Why John Mayer Ditched Alcohol For Weed

A year ago this week, John Mayer ditched alcohol for weed. While we’re all for people making healthier life choices, we’re curious. What brought about this change in lifestyle?

John Mayer

John Mayer is an American singer and songwriter. He started playing guitar at age 17, favoring the blues-rock genre. His musical career started in the late ’90s, playing in coffee shops and indie venues with his friend, with whom he dropped out of college. In 2000, he achieved commercial success and was signed to the record label Aware. He later signed with Columbia Records. In 2003, he won a Grammy for his hit song “Your Body Is A Wonderland.”

Mayer enjoyed an upward trajectory of both artistic, commercial and social success for the next ten years. In 2010, however, his image was tarnished by two highly controversial interviews with Playboy and Rolling Stone. In the interviews, he made several racist comments and referred to his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, as “sexual napalm.” After the fallout from the interviews, he withdrew from the media. Between 2010 and 2013, Mayer needed to take a musical hiatus to treat and recover from a granuloma on his vocal cords.

In recent years, Mayer seems to have grown as a person. He owns up to his past mistakes and is working diligently to be better. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, and later confirmed on his Twitter account, he disclosed that he has quit drinking in favor of a less destructive substance. Yup. John Mayer ditched alcohol for weed.

Alcohol Vs Weed

In the interview, Mayer explained that he’s replaced booze for pot. “The quality of life has gone up considerably,” he said. “Drinking is a fucking con.” The 40-year-old singer-songwriter commemorated the one-year anniversary of his break-up with alcohol on Twitter earlier this week.

The choice makes sense to us. After all, study after study shows that alcohol is exponentially worse for your health than weed is. And we’re talking about both physical and mental health here. Not only do you not have to worry about physical health risks like liver damage and getting so intoxicated that you literally die when you smoke weed. There’s also evidence showing that cannabis doesn’t negatively alter the brain structure, whereas alcohol does.

Final Hit: John Mayer Ditched Alcohol For Weed

John Mayer isn’t the only person who could benefit from replacing alcohol with cannabis. Experts in addiction seem to agree that weed can actually effectively treat addiction to a variety of substances. Including alcohol. So not only is cannabis better for both your mind and your body, it can also help get you on the right track if you are struggling with substance abuse issues.

On a larger scale, the fact that John Mayer is publicly talking about his personal weed use is fantastic. The fact that he is lauding cannabis as a positive replacement for alcohol is even better. People underestimate the power of celebrities. But when a person with as much star power as John Mayer openly discusses a still-controversial topic like this, others pay attention. Hopefully, his statements will inspire others to ditch booze for weed.